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Plan Initial/Refresher Training
Instruction in the use of AEDs is part of
a two to four hour training program offered by the American Heart
Association, the American Red Cross, the National Safety Council and
various other professional organizations. The American Heart Association
program for the lay responder is entitled Heartsaver AED. The course
teaches three basic skills : clearing a foreign body airway obstruction
for victims who are choking, adult CPR, and the use of AEDs.
The
course utilizes a number of slides and videotape segments to model the
correct application of the skills. These segments are followed immediately
by hands-on practice sessions with CPR manikins and AED training devices.
A written test is also given but the real strength of the course is a
series of scenarios that require students to demonstrate the skills they
acquired in the course. Some instructors divide their classes into groups
of four. Each student is assigned a role – observer, 911 caller, CPR
rescuer, or AED rescuer. The instructor reads a short passage about a
simulated emergency (age of victim, location of event, symptoms, etc.) and
the students treat the victim given the roles they were assigned. This
practice is excellent in getting students to work together and in
demonstrating the relationship between CPR and the use of the AED. Other
instructors prefer that students work alone requiring them to call for
help, perform CPR, and use the AED without the help of others. Both
methods are effective in giving the student confidence in using skills
that are critical to the survival of a cardiac arrest victim.
The Red
Cross and National Safety Council courses are very similar to the Heart
Association course. Some require that CPR be learned before learning to
use the AED. A link below allows you to compare the courses taught by the
three organizations.
All of
the courses use a simplified method of CPR designed to eliminate problems
that have proven troublesome in the past. In this method, the hands are
placed on the sternum on an imaginary line between the nipples for chest
compressions, and the student is directed to check for signs of
circulation rather than checking for a pulse using the carotid artery. All
three organizations realize that the easier CPR is to learn, the greater
the likelihood that students will choose to apply their skills in
real-life situations. No part of the course is especially difficult; CPR
is the most difficult skill to retain simply because it is made up of
several steps. For this reason, it has been simplified as much as
possible.
The
Heartsaver AED course teaches adult CPR only because most AEDs are
approved for use only on children over the age of eight years or
fifty-five pounds. AED skills are integrated into other courses but they
tend to be longer as they provide instruction on infant and child CPR as
well as adult.
Training courses may be advertised in your local
newspaper or a call to your local Heart Association or Red Cross office
will quickly get you information on where the course will be offered. You
can also send your email address, city and state to
www.customerservice@nsc.org to find the closest affiliate of the
National Safety Council. There is a cost for training to cover books,
materials and certificates. Often, volunteer EMTs or firemen are certified
to conduct training and are willing to do so at reasonable rates. Also,
check with the health or physical education teachers of your local school.
Many schools integrate CPR and AED use into their health curriculum. Just
be sure that whoever teaches the course is certified and experienced in
doing so.
If your
facility has already ordered or purchased a particular AED, ask your
instructor to use an AED trainer (device used during training that does
not permit a real shock) that simulates the AED that will be in your
facility. While the skills are similar from one AED to another, it is
always a confidence builder to get experience with the specific AED you
are most likely to use.
For a
comparison of the course goals and structure of AED courses taught by
different organizations, click on the following link:
www.nsc.org/public/psg/multi-ag.pdf
Refresher Training
and Drills
Students who successfully complete any of
the courses receive a certification card that is good for one or two
years. CPR is not a skill like bicycle riding; it requires periodic
practice. Once you learn the skills, you should practice even if it means
using a pillow and simulating rescue breaths and chest compressions. DO
NOT practice on family members.
Refresher courses can also be offered
every couple months to keep skills sharp. Such courses may be nothing more
than providing a manikin and AED trainer and asking that employees follow
those steps they would if a person were in cardiac arrest.
Drills are also a way to increase the
odds that people will know how to respond in the event of an emergency.
Drills can be announced or unannounced and they may focus on the AED/CPR
skills of an individual employee or the response of your entire facility
to a simulated emergency. In their most simple form, a manikin is
delivered to a location on property and the announcement is made that you
have witnessed a possible cardiac emergency. Note how long it takes for a
trained AED responder to arrive and evaluate the steps he follows in
dealing with the emergency. Make the situation as non threatening as
possible and announce beforehand that responders are not expected to
perform the way they did on the day they finished the AED course. The
purpose of these drills is to bring individual responders back to
proficiency if their skills have slipped.
In
facility-wide drills, an announcement is made that a simulated cardiac
arrest has been witnessed at some preset location. A manikin is placed on
the floor at that spot and training AEDs are placed on top of the cabinets
or near the real AEDs. From that point, a few people can be placed around
the facility to evaluate how well the emergency plan works. The focus is
on the system rather than on the individual rescuer’s skills.
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